12 October 2016 12:46 PM

A Debate on the Nation State at Durham University

On Monday night I was the guest of the Durham Union for a debate on whether the nation state is outdated. Few will be surprised to learn that I spoke against this proposal. More will be surprised to learn that my side won the vote handsomely.

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In its ideal form, the nation state should be the fairest and the most stable and humane of political structures, but where can we find this ideal form? The nationhood of the UK's population is weakening and is flat out denied by many in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and you'll find very few other examples on Earth of a nation co-extensive with a state. This is far from an arugment against the nation state, but it should be considered in the light of the categorical imperative: "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law."

An eloquent and efficient defence of the nation state.
Alas, there is only so far you can go in extolling the value of the beauty of national culture when there is no resonance for it in the heart of the beholder - be they foreign or native.

If Hillary Clinton wins the election she is certainly going to be busy. Not only will she definitely start WW3, but she will also have to find time, we are told, apparently with a straight face, to dissolve the USA. I think she will need two terms (at least).

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got
'Till it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot ...

Our Nation State is not in peril whatsoever and never can be. England is unique in that it has no cultural baggage, it's culture is hybrid and likewise it's language ; England can adapt to changes in it's cultural structure and still only be altered superficially. Where are the Normans now or the Huguenots?

Peter Hitchens is right about the nation sate as he is about much else eg the link between cannabis and mental illness.
What i can not comprehend is his joining in with the MSM -maiin stream media against Trump. He may not be perfect or right in everything, who is?. The reason the entire news media of the US is against Trump , even pretend Conservative outlets, is that Trump supports the nation state. A Trump victory would stall the globalist elite agenda for a one world Government. Thus he must be stopped at all costs.
Hilary aims to dissolve the United States by elimination of its borders setting it on the path to the North American Union. The globalist agenda the creation of federations such as the EU which can than be under single control.
HG Wells advocated world government in his book The New World Order. This is what Soros supports . Richard Dawkins, who wants a second EU referendum , advocates a one world Government .
For the American people the choice now is between Trump and the nation state or globalist funded Hilary. .

Forgive my cynicism but no room has that many asthmatics. Could the incessant coughing have been a deliberate ploy?

***PH writes: I suppose it is possible. Something similar happened during a meeting I addressed at Bristol on Vladimir Putin. It wasn't (I am glad to say) as noticeable in the room as it is on the recording. You must also remember that the first week at university is a wonderful opportunity to swap infections with your housemates, and also that the medical industry has recently declared about half the under-30 population to be asthmatics.

Reading the comments under Peter's performance I especially liked this one by Alex Wentworth with which I fully concur; 'Watching Peter Hitchens is like watching a Blu Ray while drinking spring water and breathing mountain air'.

Some say carparks are the modern thing, and want to do away with this blessèd plot which is our garage. You point out, quite rightly, the vacant anonymity of carparks. But I say that parking is a polyvalent thing: I'll keep our garage, thank you, but for some functions I just need that carpark.

The mischievous 'boys and girls' of that union would do better debating how to restore our nation state and its independence, which is suffering from the dismantling of it at the hands of the past output of many other union 'boys and girls' too.
The world does not need to be subdued and colonised again - especially by a mere handful of power-crazed, money grabbing globalists, although it would be good if they would finally emerge from the shadows to where they can be seen to become victims of their own.
The creation of nation states, contrary to popular belief, was our main chance of peaceful survival - once - which is why they want us all mixed up together again!

pace Peter Hitchens
You presented your arguments in terms of either/or: either a nation state or a carpark. But I would argue that history shows us that national and supranational loyalties and structures can exist together.

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